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How do film screenings build community in rural and small towns? Andy Myers, Director of Campaigns and Strategy, chats with Ava Auen-Ryan, community organizer with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI). They discuss how relationship building is at the center of rural organizing. Leading with intentionality, organizers can use the power of story and community film screenings to bring people into their membership base and build power to create social change. Andy: I always think of film as a great tool specifically for organizers that work with the people. Films are good at bringing in more people to the work, can you start by sharing more about your work and what Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement does? Ava: Sure, we are a multi-issue organization, and our overall North Star is to organize to win solutions that make life better for people. It can look like having a campaign around police reform in Des Moines, or housing work in Dubuque, or the work I did with Rural Cinema focusing on the environment, our land, AND our water, specifically in rural communities in Iowa. We’ve been working to stop a proposed CO2 Pipeline, and are in year 3 or 4 of the campaign and they have not been able to build it or get their permits. And we also work on issues related to factory farming, industrial agriculture, and how it's impacting our water, and how farmers are being impacted by consolidation within agriculture. We are a membership organization, and that is really important to us. And so we have member leaders for all of our campaigns. So for example, in North Central Iowa, we work in about a four county radius and in Mitchell County, we have a group of six to ten key leaders who help us make decisions about how we engage their community aroundwhat we're trying to fight for, so we do a lot of meetings. We do big community meetings where people show up to learn more, and we offer people ways to get involved. We do smaller planning meetings. We'll do meetings with elected officials to learn more about where they're at and figure out how we approach them around the solutions we need. We also do one-on-one meetings with people. Basically, the name of the game is talking to people as much as possible to learn what they care about, and then connecting that to the issues and trying to find ways for people to plug in. So, a good way to get people to plug in can be coming to a film screening. So lots of just trying to spend as much time talking to people as possible and building those relationships.   Andy: And why do you think working with people is the way to do all of this? Ava: I think there's no other way to sustain real change over a long period of time. It can be hard sometimes, especially in the political climate we live in. But I think most people are good people who have a lot of shared values and care about the same things. But if we're not talking to each other, like it's really easy to write each other off and that just leads to divisiveness that only benefits the current system we're in. With the pipeline for instance, if we weren't talking to each other, that's what Summit Carbon Solutions, the pipeline company wants, right? Because then they get to put their pipeline in and they get to make billions of dollars each year. We need each other. Humans are pack animals! I think it's the only way we can actually win solutions and then sustain them over time.   Andy: Definitely agree with all of that. Can you share how Iowa CCI uses film to work with people in this way, and bring more folks into the work?   Ava: When we started working with films, we used them kind of sporadically. We didn't have a huge strategy around it, but we really believed in art and moving people and inspiring people, and then we got involved with the Rural Cinema program and tried to make it a lot more intentional. And our main drive was to meet new people and to bring them into the work with different asks. We like to think of all of our asks, as a light, medium, and heavy ask. And coming to a film screening is a light ask. If instead, you just meet someone, and ask them to show up to the Capitol to lobby all day–that’s probably not a good ask, right? Because they just met you. They'd have to drive three hours. Then they have to spend all day with you. It's a lot to ask someone right away. But coming into a film screening in their community is a lot lighter of an ask and it’s a way to keep building that relationship. So that's kind of how we were trying to strategize around using film in Rural Cinema. And that's how we still think about it. At the screenings themselves, we can introduce medium and heavy asks. At one of our film showings, we were knocking doors around that time, which is a big ask–you're going to go knock on a stranger's door and ask them to sign this petition about this thing?!--that's kind of scary for most people. But that was something that we asked people to do at that film screening. We probably wouldn't ask that normally, but it was an easier ask since they had done the light ask of attending the film screening. In terms of films that we use, there are two main categories that we lean on quite a bit. One is films that have a very clear villain and a very clear movement of people who are trying to prevent something from happening. And with those films, it could be about any issue and you could apply it to the situation that you're in and learn and find similarities. Kind of those David and Goliath stories or organizing stories. The other bucket that we lean on heavily are films that offer an alternative, films that show the vision of what we're fighting for. People in the audience will often see things or make connections that we don't anticipate. Films help show the commonalities we have, even if we don't live in the same place or if we don't look the same, or there's a lot of things we have in common—the enemy is not each other. Andy: Earlier you had shared that part of why you work with people is because we need everybody or we need at least a lot of people to get our stuff done and build actual movements. Have you ever used films to bring in folks that might not yet be “with you”?   Ava: Yeah, so one good example would be the pipeline fight. There's a lot of reasons to care about this issue and kind of the reason that people got worked up about it at first was property rights and eminent domain. But we don't want to stay just there. We want to expand the issue and talk about how it's impacting the land and our water. And also, you know, climate change and how this is a false energy solution. There's other things that we should be investing in. And we're working primarily in rural Iowa. If you look at Mitchell County, it's overwhelmingly older white folks and probably folks who are more conservative than maybe we are. And so we showed 'LN3: The 7 Teachings of the Anishinaabe Resistance.’ It showed a fight led by indigenous people and in the film they talked a lot about their experience and their perspective and the solutions that indigenous cultures offer to the climate crisis and that's just a different experience that the folks we're working with don’t have. People learn through experience and through repetition, so showing the film was offering someone an experience to learn about something that otherwise, they would have never gotten to see or learn about. And some of these people might not believe in climate change, but they care about the land, or they care about the water. They care about all these things but climate change might not be something they talk about. With this film, the climate change connection was relatively explicit, and it showed we can talk about this and it's going to be okay.   Andy: With Rural Cinema, there is a deeper commitment of time and energy. Y’all have to learn the equipment, you have to do the trainings, and then you do a whole film series. Why did you invest so much time and energy into films as a tool for your organizing?   Ava: It goes back to offering opportunities for all of us to learn. We all always have something to learn and it's a great way to do that. And then two, just going back to those “lighter asks” where we know not all of the different tactics or activities we do fit people's skill set or interest. So this is one that I think pretty broadly, people are comfortable with, they want to learn more. So yeah, it kind of just goes back to its one of those lighter asks that can get people in the door and get them to stick with us long term. With films, it's also emotional. It's a piece of art. It can move you in a way where a typical conversation may not. There's other “light asks” we could ask people to do and they would do them, but it doesn't have the same emotional reaction or connection that a piece of art can bring. We have lots of creative people on staff. I can be creative at certain times. And also sometimes it's hard. So we're grateful that people create things like this that we can utilize. Especially for staff or member leaders who have been involved, we think about this stuff all day long and it can be really easy to compartmentalize and this reminds you of what's at stake and “the why” behind doing all the work. And I think that's super important to keep going. And I think keeping going is the most important thing we can all do right now.  

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If you're interested in learning how to put film to work for community change and inspire others to take action, join us for our Story Leads To Community webinar on July 30, 2025, at 3 PM EST. Register here. For more on Rural Cinema, check out the Rural Cinema project page. Applications for the 2026 cohort will open this winter. To learn more information on Ava and the important work of Iowa CCI, check out their site at this link.  

The Cucalorus Works-in-Progress (WiP) Lab supports social justice documentaries with a focus on Black storytelling. Co-designed and coordinated by Working Films, participating artists will receive feedback on their work-in-progress and explore audience engagement strategies through workshops, consultations, and community screenings during a residency at Cucalorus’ campus from April 22-29, 2025. Now in its 17th year, the Works-in-Progress Lab was launched in 2008 through a partnership between Working Films and Cucalorus. The following documentary films were selected for the Cucalorus 2025 Works-in-Progress Lab:

Of the Soil by Alexis Bell

   

Working Films was founded on the premise that Story Leads to Action. And for 25 years, we’ve made that tagline a reality by building trusting relationships between filmmakers and organizers, ensuring that when the lights come up after a film, audiences have meaningful ways to plug into efforts for change. Two and a half decades later we are still bringing the world of filmmaking together with social justice through dynamic programs that are tackling the most pressing issues of our time. Our connection to the San Francisco Bay Area is not just part of our history—it’s central to who we are. This community has long been a hub of visionary storytelling and organizing, and our collaborations here have deeply influenced our approach to media and impact. From the very beginning, we've worked alongside incredible Bay Area artists, filmmakers, and changemakers whose creativity and commitment to justice have expanded what’s possible in our work. Our first-of-its-kind Impact Producer training, Reel Change, launched in partnership with BAVC, set the stage for a more inclusive and intentional approach to building the field. We've proudly collaborated with institutions like ITVS, CAAMFest, Fist Up Film Festival, and The Redford Center—each playing a vital role in strengthening the documentary and media impact ecosystem, not only in the Bay Area but across the nation. Our partnerships with local organizations and organizers have ensured that powerful media doesn’t just reach audiences—it moves them. Oakland-based organization, Critical Resistance, served as a design partner for Beyond Walls, our compilation of short films reimagining a world without prisons and policing. These films have reached over 100 communities, thanks in no small part to the strategic and values-aligned organizing of our Bay Area collaborators. Through the Rise-Home Stories Project, we joined forces with groups like ACCE, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, and others to co-create five groundbreaking media projects that reimagine our relationships to land and home. This project also included work with Bay Area artists such as Rober Liu- Trujillo, Leticia Hernández Linares, and filmmaker Leah Mahan. One of the project's standout pieces—a podcast featuring stories about community-led disaster response highlighted  KBBF 89.1 FM’s critical role in recovery efforts following devastating wildfires in the Sonoma area.  And, the Bay continues to be home to many of the remarkable filmmakers we support. This year, our Impact Kickstart program is backing two groundbreaking documentaries led by women of color directors challenging systems of oppression. Traces of Home, directed and produced by Colette Ghunim, is one of these powerful projects with strong roots in the Bay. “Being selected as part of Impact Kickstart is a life-changing opportunity to serve my community,” says Colette. “I am eternally grateful to partner with such a heart-centered, intentional team.” There are so many other colleagues and allies from the Bay that we could name, who we continue to draw inspiration and energy from the community’s deep legacy of activism and artistry. Together, we’ve sparked connections, conversations, and actions that have fueled movements and made a lasting impact. Even in moments like this—when the work ahead feels daunting—it’s essential to celebrate the strength of our community of artists, truth tellers, culture bearers, and organizers, and to nourish our spirits for the journey forward. That’s why we’re thrilled to invite you to join us in San Francisco on May 15th for an evening celebrating Working Films’ 25th anniversary. Together, we’ll enjoy appetizers, drinks, and a special performance by Bay Area poet and filmmaker Yosimar Reyes, along with inspiring stories from filmmakers we’ve worked with, our staff, and board. Most importantly, it will be a chance to come together in community, uplift one another, and connect with others who are committed to using film as a tool for change.  

This event and our work are made possible by the generosity of our supporters. Thank you so much to the sponsors for the Working Films San Francisco Anniversary Celebration:

Impact Sponsor:

Lisa Kleiner Chanoff

Changemaker Sponsor:

Julie Parker Benello, in honor of Working Films’ co-founder Judith Helfand

Community Sponsor:

Ally Sponsors:

Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Color Congress,and  Nancy Blachman, Founder, JRMF.org

 

Purchase your tickets and learn more about sponsorship opportunities by visiting: https://bit.ly/4czmuC5.

We hope to see you there—and stay tuned for details on an NYC celebration this fall!

- The Working Films Team

 

For the first time ever, Cucalorus and Working Films are inviting the public to experience the 2025 Works-in-Progress Lab—an immersive residency that champions independent filmmakers telling powerful stories of social justice. Taking place April 22-29, 2025, at Jengo’s Playhouse in downtown Wilmington, the Lab provides hands-on guidance in audience engagement and accountable storytelling. Each evening, audiences will get an exclusive first look at one of five powerful works-in-progress, with filmmakers and mentors joining in person to share insights and spark conversation. The gatherings begin at 6:30pm -- Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Monday's screening will begin at 3:00pm. Filmmakers in this year’s cohort will refine their outreach strategies, ensuring their documentaries foster meaningful impact. The program is part of an ongoing effort to empower filmmakers with the tools to connect their stories with communities and drive change. Five filmmaking teams will receive extensive community feedback during a series of public screenings, workshops, and one-on-one consultations with mentors Jackie Olive, Byron Hurt, Akili Davis and Natalie Bullock Brown. Designed to support independent social justice filmmakers, the Lab focuses on audience engagement and accountable storytelling, equipping participants with the tools to develop impactful outreach strategies for their documentaries. “Witnessing the relationships grow within the Lab between the cohort throughout the week is powerful and creates an environment of trust and support with aligned filmmakers, mentors and community members,” mentioned  Works-in-Progress Lab organizer Stephanie Avery. The following films have been selected for the 2025 WiP Lab:

• Women Who Ride, directed by Jessica Jones, follows Tish Edwards, founder of Oakland’s first Black women’s motorcycle club, as she balances leadership, caregiving, and her passion for riding.

 

• Afromystic, directed by Seyi Adebanjo, is a lyrical documentary exploring the spiritual journeys of LGBTQ+ Yoruba practitioners across Nigeria, Brazil, and the U.S. Through ritual, storytelling, and performance, the film challenges colonial erasure, highlighting Queer resilience within indigenous traditions.

 

• Of the Soil, directed by Alexis Bell, follows farmer and activist Kendrick Ransome, as he fights for Black food sovereignty, reclaiming land, mentoring youth, and advocating for sustainable agriculture to build a healthier future.

 

• Allensworth: The Town that Refuses to Die, directed by Daryl Jones, follows Black and Latine residents that are fighting climate change and hardship with resilience, preserving a legacy of survival and community.

• The Co-op: The Kids of Dorie Miller, directed by Paulina Davis, follows her family's history at NYC’s pioneering unsegregated housing co-op, The Dorie Miller Co-op, exploring its legacy of community and resistance amid today’s affordable housing crisis.

The Works-in-Progress Lab is designed and led by Working Films, a Wilmington-based nonprofit organization that is nationally recognized for its work using documentaries as a resource to inform and involve communities in addressing social and environmental issues that impact their lives. Interviews with any of the filmmakers can be arranged by request. Please contact Stephanie Avery at savery@workingfilms.org to schedule or visit jengos.eventive.org/schedule for detailed information about each screening.

Join Working Films and some of your favorite storytellers and changemakers for a one-of-a-kind evening in San Francisco. Enjoy delicious appetizers, drinks, and the company of fellow filmmakers, artists, and changemakers as we come together to celebrate 25 years of documentary impact and set our sights on the future. This inspiring gathering will feature co-hosts and Working Films’ board members, Adamu Chan and Anayansi Prado, along with a special performance from a local poet and artist. Let’s come together to honor this milestone, build community, and continue using stories to inspire action and create change. All proceeds will fund Working Films’ efforts connecting filmmakers and changemakers to tackle the issues of our time. Purchase tickets here. SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES  Join us in supporting Working Films’ mission to advance social and environmental justice through documentary storytelling. Your sponsorship will benefit the filmmakers, community organizers, and audiences across the country that Working Films serves. From production grants for films on Democracy, to growing the climate justice movement in rural areas via solar powered film series, your donation will help us make a difference in 2025 and set the stage for the next 25 years. Your sponsorship shows that your organization aligns with our belief in the power of story to make an impact, our commitment to ground up social change, and the importance of accountability to communities most impacted by injustice as we work to build a new world together. Please contact Anna Lee, Working Films' Director of Learning and Development, with questions about sponsorship or tickets. (alee [at] workingfilms [dot] org) [video width="1366" height="768" mp4="https://wf.orangestatic.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/WF-25-Shorten.mp4" loop="true" autoplay="true"][/video]

Working Films and our partners at Democracy 2076, Political Research Associates, and Southern Vision Alliance are looking for story-driven short films that will illuminate the growing dangers of fascism and authoritarianism, fostering a shared understanding of the challenges we face and how to push back. Together, through the Docs in Action program, we will fund and tour films to support organizers who are resisting authoritarianism and building democratic possibility throughout the U.S. and beyond. While recent examples of rising fascism—such as the erosion of democratic norms in the U.S., the rise of authoritarian regimes in Europe and South America, and the global surge in far-right extremism—underscore the urgency of these threats, they have been steadily growing and will continue to grow without deliberate and collective action. To address these challenges, we must expose the dangers they pose and highlight stories of resistance. Building the future we all deserve, requires breaking out of silos and learning from what’s worked—locally and globally, historically and today. We need to understand the roots of fascism and authoritarianism, how we got here and what we truly mean by democracy. This isn’t just about protecting democracy but reclaiming and reimagining it as a radical project, one that resists the status quo and embraces the possibilities of a just, multiracial, feminist future. Through these stories, we can foster solidarity and demonstrate how collective care and action can counter the growing dangers we face. More than just a call to defense, these films will inspire audiences to envision a future rooted in hope and equip them with the tools to take action and reimagine a society where the radical possibilities of a just and inclusive democracy—one that uplifts everyone and embodies justice—can finally take shape. The 2025 Docs in Action program has two tracks for filmmakers:

1. Apply for up to $30,000 in funding for short documentary films. Only works-in-progress, short documentaries are eligible to apply for funding.
2. Submit your completed documentary or narrative film to be included in a compilation that will be used to support organizing.

We're looking for artful films that are visually compelling and bring us into the issues through powerful human stories. More information and directions for how to apply can be found below. If you have a film that can be described in one or more of the following ways, please apply.

Now in its seventh year, Working Films’ Impact Kickstart program has resourced filmmakers to pursue strategic plans for impact and engage audiences, partners, and supporters in meaningful ways. This year, we will be providing in-kind partnership and strategy development, expert 1:1 mentorship, and $60,000 of impact campaign funding to each awardee. “The two films selected for Impact Kickstart this year truly center community and care,” says Gerry Leonard, Director of Filmmaker Services and Impact. “From skill-sharing to trauma healing workshops — Standing Above the Clouds and Traces of Home reflect the transformative and bold ways that film can build power within and for communities, leading to long-term organizing and engagement.” We are thrilled to announce the two films receiving an Impact Kickstart in 2025! Traces of Home by Colette Ghunim (Director), Sara Maamouri (Editor/Producer), Keith Wilson (Executive Producer), Dan Rybicky (Producer), Capella Fahoome (Producer) Flipping through family photo albums, I ask my parents what made them come to the United States from Mexico and Palestine. My mother slowly responds, “We didn’t move to the United States as immigrants looking for a better life. We were running away from something.” For me, this statement is pivotal. Growing up disconnected from my roots, I hadn’t thought much about my parents’ migration stories before. What were they running away from? Over grainy VHS footage of our seemingly typical American family, my brother shares his definition of home. Troubled memories begin to unravel. On Christmas Day, 1997, I open presents, and a letter from “Santa” asks me to promise my mother not to cry anymore. Ramsey recounts that, although our parents loved us, he always felt something was missing. Filmed over five years, Traces of Home is a personal story about my relationship with my family through the lens of intergenerational trauma. Interweaving two international trips to find my parents’ ancestral homes in Mexico and Palestine, extensive family video archives, and intimate conversations with my family, what begins as a desire to connect to my cultural origins turns into an internal quest to heal myself and my family. “Being selected as part of Impact Kickstart is a life-changing opportunity to serve my community through facilitating trauma healing work that is so desperately needed to transform both our inner and outer worlds,” says Colette Ghunim, Director/Producer of Traces of Home. “I am eternally grateful to partner with such a heart-centered, intentional team to strategize our collective liberation together.” Instagram | Website Standing Above the Clouds by Jalena Keane-Lee (Director/Producer), Amber Espinosa-Jones (Producer), Erin Lau (Producer), Diana Diroy (Editor), Aunty Pua (Co-Producer/Protagonist/Cultural Advisor) Standing Above the Clouds is an intimate look at the largest political movement in Hawaiian history and the Indigenous women leaders who have successfully sustained it since 2010. We see the history of the movement to Protect Mauna Kea through archival footage and learn of the detrimental environmental and cultural impacts past telescopes have had on the sacred mountain. At the center of the story are Pua Case and her two daughters Hāwane Rios and Kapulei Flores. They are joined by Mehana Kihoi and Leina’ala Sleightholm who have changed their families’  lives by joining the movement. We follow them through the pandemic as they work to heal from trauma and rely on community. With the fate of the telescope still to be decided, the film shows that victory is in the perseverance of a movement and the intergenerational healing found in sisterhood and cultural practice. “We made Standing Above the Clouds to honor indigenous women activists and help protect sacred places around the world,” says Jalena Keane-Lee, Director/Producer of Standing Above the Clouds. “We are so excited to be collaborating with Working Films on this next phase of our impact campaign!” Instagram | Website   ABOUT IMPACT KICKSTART Impact Kickstart was launched with the understanding that a solid strategy for audience engagement and strong partnerships are critical for a documentary film to make a difference. Filmmakers often lack time to do this work themselves or the expertise and the funds to pay for it. To respond to this challenge, Working Films offers free impact campaign development services and funding to artists whose films hold great promise to shift understanding and catalyze action that addresses some of the most critical issues of our time. Impact Kickstart is made possible with support from the Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Kendeda Fund, and the Perspective Fund.